Archive for October 29, 2011

For those of you in our Madrona Wines Monthly selections, here are the bottles we are holding for you for November 2011 All Red 6-Bottle membership:

2008 Felix Ravinet ($9)

Côtes du Rhône Villages

Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault

An incredible deal on a CDR Villages. The Felix has dry dark cherry flavors with good spice notes. Good everyday food wine. Matches a wide range of dishes.

2009 Puydeval ($10)

Syrah

100% Syrah

A dark spicy Syrah from the south of France in Languedoc. This usually sells for $13 but somehow we got it at this great price.

2005 Chateau Bellevue la Forêt ($13)

Ce Vin

100% Négrette

Fronton

A unique indigenous grape from Southwest France, Négrette is a dark skinned grape that produces a rich fruit and good minerality. Its excellence matches its obscurity.

2009 Lou Planal ($9)

Corbier

100% Marselan

A cross between Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. Masrelan is grown mainly in the south of France. The Planal has lots of fruit at the beginning followed by dry leathery tannins. It makes you wonder why we don’t grow more of it here.

2010 Purato ($11)

Nero d’Avola

100% Nero d’Avola

The Purato is made from organic vineyards in the south eastern region of Sicily. The wine is rich with big berry and cherry flavors balanced out by dry tannins and good acidity.

Organic

2008 Bodegas Castaño ($12)

Hécula

Monestrell

Yecla

From older vine Monestrell (Mouvèdre), the Hécula has complex aromas of raspberry, mulberry and licorice followed by intense juicy blackberry flavors, squashy acidity and long aftertaste. How can you not like that?

Starting November 5th Madrona Wine Merchants will kick off special Saturday tastings each week from 2-4pm. Each Saturday will feature 4-5 wines on a theme for tasting along with a little informative chit chat about them. It’s a great way to learn a little bit or just find out what you like.

The schedule for November is:

November 5th – Rioja – The Wines of Spain

November 12th – Wines from Southern Italy

November 19th – Thanksgiving Wines

November 26th – Wines from the Côte du Rhône

December 3rd – Small Winery, Big Wines. New releases from Animale winery.

It may not be grand, but Madrona Wine Merchants at 1127 34th Avenue will be open for business next Wednesday, October 26th. Drop in and say hello.

Our shop hours will be:

Wednesday thru Friday noon until 7

Saturday 11 until 7

Sunday 11 until 5

We’ll be having Saturday afternoon tastings from 2-4 starting November 5th. There is no charge and they are a great way to discover new wines. Check out our website for more information and sign up for our email list to keep current on what we’ll be pouring.

With only eight hectares of vines (40 year old on average) this miniscule, ultra-traditional estate produces tiny quantities of just one wine: no luxury cuvee, no specialty blend, just a stunningly pure and complex Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Owner Claude Courtil is the godson of none other than Henri Bonneau, one of the most legendary and revered producers in the region, and he learned everything he knows about winemaking from his godfather. Henri and Claude share a deeply held commitment to natural winemaking: manual vineyard work, traditional aging in large foudres, and bottling without intrusive fining and filtration.

The 2009 is loaded with dark fruit and spice. It is drinking great right now and will age nicely.

From Corbières, in the South of France comes this unique and delicious wine made from Marselan, a highbred cross between Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine hits your palate with full dark fruit that melts into long dry leathery tannins. Don’t let the VDP fool you. There is a lot going on here. And, it is only $9.